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Thu, 14 Aug 2014 22:09:31 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.8.5Deltadesignzcomhttps://feedburner.google.com8 Tips for Building Your Graphic Design Portfoliohttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Deltadesignzcom/~3/bUxjo6Gospk/
http://deltadesignz.com/2013/09/8-tips-for-building-your-graphic-design-portfolio/#commentsTue, 03 Sep 2013 17:24:13 +0000http://deltadesignz.com/?p=881
Creating a graphic design portfolio digital can benefit you in countless ways. From connecting with more of your target audience to making your work...]]>Creating a graphic design portfolio digital can benefit you in countless ways. From connecting with more of your target audience to making your work more accessible, assembling you digital portfolio gives you more than an eco-friendly and versatile way to present your designs. With a few pointers to get your online portfolio going, drawing in and impressing potential clients will be a cinch!

1. Focus on presentation
When presenting your graphic design portfolio digitally, it’s important to do so in an attractive and organized way. Keep your portfolio’s theme simple; you want to use your website as a platform to exhibit your graphic design pieces. Don’t use overpowering themes with elements such as bold, neon background colors. Use neutral colors and designs for your background page instead. You can also create or find a theme that complements your graphic design samples. If possible, add your own design to your website theme to make your portfolio completely about your pieces.

2. Make your portfolio easy to navigate through
Not everyone is Internet savvy, so be sure to organize your online portfolio in a simple and easy-to-use way for your visitors. If clients can’t figure out how to navigate your website, they may leave the page quickly, which amounts to lost professional opportunities. Organize your website by adding links to navigate to other areas of the site. For example, create an “about” link directing visitors to a page that tells them more about your professional background. You can also create links to pages that organize your work by type, such as website design or business cards.

3. Add previous clients’ testimonials
Simply put, including positive testimonials you’ve received from reputable professionals and colleagues helps to build your credibility. Potential clients will develop trust in your abilities by seeing how customers like themselves have reacted to your work. You can also include a page where clients can write and submit testimonials on your portfolio.

4. Display a variety of graphic design works
Don’t limit yourself including only website designs you’ve created in your portfolio: add other works you have done as well, such as business logos, holiday cards, and magazine covers. By adding other types of work, you can reach more clients and illustrate your range as an artist. Remember to include only your very best samples. The rule of thumb when creating your digital graphic design portfolio is quality over quantity.

5. Put your work in PDF format
Offer your visitors another way to view your works by adding a PDF download option to your online portfolio. Instead of going through the pages of your website, a PDF can store all your works in one place for easier viewing when potential clients are in a hurry. They can download the PDF and view it later or on the go at their convenience. When creating a PDF, be sure to add copyright information to it to protect your designs. You can also include an introduction page that tells who you are and provides your contact information.

6. Don’t forget your ‘About Me’ page
Even in the digital age, people still want to meet the face behind the works. Include a small autobiographical section that discusses how you got into graphic design, why you enjoy it, and what sets your work apart. You can also mention awards, education, your mission statement, and your social network links. Make your mini biography friendly and easy to read; you can do so by adding any of your hobbies aside from graphic design. Remember to include a friendly and professional photo of yourself to your ‘About’ page, so others can make a personal connection with you by seeing what you look like.

7. Make your contact information noticeable
Just like a paper resume, your online portfolio should include clear contact information. Be sure to include a professional email address that you check daily as well, so you can respond to inquiries. If you’re comfortable enough, you can include your cell or work phone number as another way for potential clients to contact you. To protect your identity, consider using a Google Voice phone number.

8. Write about each piece you showcase
Even if a graphic design portfolio is all about displaying your finished work, it’s important to tell visitors about each piece. When it comes to works you’ve produced for clients, you can talk about the project requirements and how you fulfilled or surpassed them. For your own personal designs, you can explain your inspirations for each piece and what it represents to you.

One last thing to keep in mind is the increasing ubiquity of mobile platforms. Making your site mobile-friendly will help to further broaden your potential audience, as many people now do the majority of their web browsing on tablet and smart phones. Whether you’re creating your first online graphic design portfolio or revamping one you already have, always keep your clients in mind and make your website as easy to view as possible.

Sara Collins is a writer for NerdWallet, a site that helps consumers learn about the best ways to save money.

]]>http://deltadesignz.com/2013/09/8-tips-for-building-your-graphic-design-portfolio/feed/0http://deltadesignz.com/2013/09/8-tips-for-building-your-graphic-design-portfolio/4 Simple Ways To Improve Your Ecommerce Conversion Ratehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Deltadesignzcom/~3/91r-rxKpkAU/
http://deltadesignz.com/2013/06/4-simple-ways-to-improve-your-ecommerce-conversion-rate/#commentsMon, 03 Jun 2013 13:52:37 +0000http://deltadesignz.com/?p=866If you’re serious about making money online and operating a legitimate online business, then an ecommerce site is probably the way to go. If you can create an ecommerce store that attracts a lot of targeted traffic and sells quality products/services, chances are that you’ll make a substantial amount of money.

One of the problems with ecommerce websites is that they’re just so competitive. It doesn’t matter what you’re planning on selling, it’s likely that there are also a huge number of other businesses operating in your market and essentially, these are your competitors.

Clearly, marketing is an essential part of making an ecommerce site work as without visitors, you aren’t going to be able to sell any products/services. However, there is another hugely important aspect of creating a lucrative ecommerce store that is often overlooked; your conversion rate.

To put it simply, your conversion rate is the number of visitors that will convert to customers. So, if you had 100 visitors and sold 3 products, your conversion rate would be 3%. Obviously, the higher this conversion rate is, the more products/services you’ll sell and the more revenue you’ll generate.

But how do you increase your conversion rate? Here’s a few simple tips to get you started.

#1 – Give Free Delivery

One of the things that a lot of people look for when shopping online these days is whether or not the online store gives free delivery. Free delivery has become an increasingly popular selling point over the past few years and now, tonnes of online stores give free delivery on most of their products; Amazon is one of these stores (as you can see from the screenshot above).
If you aren’t giving your customers free delivery, you’re truly missing a trick. Personally, if I visit a website and the store doesn’t have free delivery, I will usually go back to Google and click a different result, with the hope of free delivery at the end of it.
Clearly, free delivery contributes towards your conversion rate. If people are getting to the checkout process on your website only to find that at this point you’ve decided to add on £4.95 for delivery, the chances of them clicking off your website are high.
Offering free delivery is a sure-fire way to increase conversion rate without much effort, although it might not suit every online store. For example, if you’re delivering big/heavy items, free delivery might not be a viable option for your business, although you could incorporate the cost of the delivery into the product cost.
Another option is to offer free delivery when the customer places a large order.

#2 – Guide The Customer Through The Process

Not all ecommerce stores are as simple as adding a product to a basket and clicking the checkout button; some require additional steps. For example, printing companies require customers/clients to upload artwork and make various selections to customise their product before getting to the checkout process and in some cases, this can confuse the customer.
One way to increase your conversion rate is to make the checkout/ordering process as simple as possible for your visitors. If they get confused and don’t know what to do, they’re going to waste no time in searching for another alternative.
A good way of tackling this problem is to actually guide the customer through the process. If you take a look at the screenshot above, you can see that this printing company utilises a “how to order” page that literally tells the customer exactly how to go through the process on their website.
It’s a pretty simple thing to incorporate into your website but it will definitely increase conversions.

#3 – Appear Trustworthy

Customers are only going to trust your website with their credit/debit card details if you appear trustworthy. What’s more, people are very aware of online fraud these days so if they can find any reason at all not to trust your website, they’re not going to place an order.
Obviously, to some extent, building trust is something that is done over time by building a brand and increasing the awareness of that brand but there are also certain aspects of your website that can increase trust too.
If you have well-written content, a great design and a clean/clear brand, visitors are going to put a lot more trust in your site. You can see in the screenshot above from the website Asos.com, the website looks extremely professional and most customers would automatically trust this site, simply because of this.
Adding badges to your website (e.g. VeriSign badge and other security-related badges) can also increase trust and therefore, your conversion rate.

#4 – Add Video Content

More and more online stores (such as Zappos pictured above) are starting to utilise video content on their websites as in most cases, they significantly increase the conversion rate for their product pages.
If you run an ecommerce store, you’ll likely have photos and other descriptive content related to the products on your site but truthfully, nothing compares to video. If you can show your customers a video of the product in action that explains the benefits/selling points of the product, they’re going to be much more likely to purchase it.
Clearly, investing in video can be an expensive process, so it won’t be suited to everyone. But there are videos available for free on the internet that could be embedded into your website free of charge.

Conclusion

Increasing conversion rates for any website is a difficult task and it’s one that generally doesn’t have a right or wrong answer. A tactic that might increase the conversion rate on one online store could decrease the conversion rate on another and therefore, split-testing is a necessity for anyone looking to improve their conversion rate.
You also have to consider whether it would be more effective to utilise your businesses funds to increase your conversion rate or increase traffic too, so that’s something to keep in mind.

]]>http://deltadesignz.com/2013/06/4-simple-ways-to-improve-your-ecommerce-conversion-rate/feed/1http://deltadesignz.com/2013/06/4-simple-ways-to-improve-your-ecommerce-conversion-rate/Why a professionally designed Logo is important to your businesshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Deltadesignzcom/~3/JlhibvTm6RE/
http://deltadesignz.com/2013/05/why-a-professionally-designed-logo-is-important-to-your-business/#commentsTue, 07 May 2013 04:44:02 +0000http://deltadesignz.com/?p=785
One of the most important essentials that every business needs is a well-designed Logo. High quality products and excellent customer service are vital, to be sure, but one of the biggest contributors]]>One of the most important essentials that every business needs is a well-designed Logo.
High quality products and excellent customer service are vital, to be sure, but one of the biggest contributors to your business success now and in the future is definitely the Logo that everyone sees before they even set foot in your door.

The reason for this is simple; your Logo is like the ‘face’ of your business. For example, when you see those tall, golden arches, even from far away, you know that McDonald’s and their delicious hamburgers are close by. The orange and white Home Depot logo, with its use of the ‘stencil’ font, is another great example that lets people know at a glance what they offer, as is the ‘helping hands’ logo that Allstate Insurance uses.

A well-done Logo will help to brand your business like almost nothing else can, and in effect is the most dominant visual element that’s linked to the ‘personality’ of your business. A well-designed Logo can transmit whatever message you like about your company. It also has the responsibility letting a prospective customer know what your company ‘stands for’ at a glance. If it’s a good one it will tell people ‘we’re trustworthy, capable, and ready to help you with quality and dependability’.

A well-designed logo will incorporate simplicity, flexibility and adaptability into its design. The simplicity part means that it is easily recognizable and, hopefully, memorable. Being flexible and adaptable means that it can be used in all of your outward bound marketing and advertising and is easy to configure and adapt to the various sizes from business cards to billboards. Remember, your logo represents your company 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. Make it a good one and it will generate business for you even when you’re closed.

In closing, here are a few various reason why having a professionally designed Logo is vitally important to your businesses health.

It creates brand recognition to help consumers remember you.

It will help to assuage fears when a new product is rolled out. People will ‘trust’ the product because your logo is on it.

It will establish your company’s identity into the future.

It tells people who you are at a glance.

It helps them to know what products or services you sell.

If you’re starting a business or you are thinking about updating your logo please feel free to contact us with any questions you have or any needs that we can fulfill. Thank you.

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]]>http://deltadesignz.com/2013/05/why-a-professionally-designed-logo-is-important-to-your-business/feed/1http://deltadesignz.com/2013/05/why-a-professionally-designed-logo-is-important-to-your-business/20 Law Firm Websites for Web Design Inspirationhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Deltadesignzcom/~3/GzSvuitGp6I/
http://deltadesignz.com/2012/11/law-firm-web-design-inspiration/#commentsMon, 19 Nov 2012 04:02:59 +0000http://deltadesignz.com/?p=750
I was recently in the process of starting a web site for a law firm, after doing a few google searches for inspiration I just couldn't find anything that caught my eye or excited me design wise. I found it very difficult to ]]>I was recently in the process of starting a web site for a law firm, after doing a few google searches for inspiration I just couldn’t find anything that caught my eye or excited me design wise. I found it very difficult to find inspiration roundup posts for law firms and figured there had to be some unique, exciting, and well-designed law firm websites out there, especially with all the money involved in that field! After searching through the web I did indeed find several beautiful and inspirational web sites that got my mind going! So I put them together here for anyone looking for some awesome law firm web design or just in need of some inspiration!

Herbert Smith Freehills

King & Wood Mallesons

Linklaters

Foley & Lardner LLP

Cooley LLP

Winston & Strawn LLP

WilmerHale

Baker & McKenzie

Latham & Watkins LLP

Sidley

Weil, Gotshal & Manges

Greenberg Traurig LLP

Paul Hastings

Hogan Lovells

Proskauer Rose LLP

Milbank

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Perkins Coie

Jenner & Block

Venable LLP

]]>http://deltadesignz.com/2012/11/law-firm-web-design-inspiration/feed/9http://deltadesignz.com/2012/11/law-firm-web-design-inspiration/The Top Ten Reasons Your Business Needs a Websitehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Deltadesignzcom/~3/XckIrzfo7-k/
http://deltadesignz.com/2012/01/the-top-ten-reasons-your-business-needs-a-website/#commentsFri, 20 Jan 2012 00:42:30 +0000http://deltadesignz.com/?p=656
You know your friends have done it. You've thought about doing it, but you weren't sure how it would benefit your company. But now's the time to secure a web presence for your business]]>You know your friends have done it. You’ve thought about doing it, but you weren’t sure how it would benefit your company. But now’s the time to secure a web presence for your business.

Broaden your potential customer base to the entire online world. You’re not limited to local people picking up a phone book or reading your print ads in the newspaper. Anyone with internet access becomes a potential customer.

Answer questions and explain the benefits of your business 24/7. Your potential customers don’t have to wait until office hours to call you. They don’t have to wait for a return call if you’re on another line. By searching your website they can find out exactly what you’re offering to do for them, read your companies mission statement, see your answers to the FAQ section, and find out where to email or call your for more information.

Make you an expert. People go online to find out information from someone who knows what they’re talking about. You can be that expert if you provide current, helpful information. It increases your credibility.

Create an interactive environment for your customers. Your site can have a place for comments or questions or even a survey asking what you’re customers would like to see added to your page or to your product line.

Keep your information current. A website isn’t like spending thousands of dollars to print full-color brochures that are obsolete before you finish distributing them. Websites can be set-up with reasonable fees and expanded when needed. You can update content whenever you choose to.

Sell your services night and day. Your page can be set up to directly process orders online. You get up in the morning to find out you made sales while you were sleeping.

Explain your service in as much detail as your potential customer wants, or as little. Some people want to skim web pages and read headlines or lists. Other people want all the details. A good webpage is set up to make both happy.

Show you understand technology. A webpage brings your company up to speed with other companies. It shows you’re not afraid to use technology to improve your level of customer service.

Increases awareness of your business to people who normally wouldn’t seek you out. People might not scan the phone book, but they do scan the web. And if your webpage is set up properly and optimized with the right content, you can pull in customers who weren’t even aware they needed your service. Until your webpage explains to them why they do!

Test new products and advertisements quickly. Instead of sending out an expensive direct mail package to a few thousand people, and then waiting to find out the results, you can text new products and marketing ideas on the web cheaply and quickly. If it doesn’t work, you can easily tweak the ads and try again.

If you are a web designer or even a graphic designer it is important to make sure your design is compatible with as many different devices as possible and that means that it has to fit different sized screens so that it is functional and displays properly on each one [...]

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If you are a web designer or even a graphic designer it is important to make sure your design is compatible with as many different devices as possible and that means that it has to fit different sized screens so that it is functional and displays properly on each one. When working on an interface design for a specific sized screen you need to make sure that your design is going to display properly on that screen, even though it may look fine on your screen there could be problems if you don’t have the appropriate settings specified. Below are some useful resources that will help you test your design on different screens and resolutions, be it for a website or for print or interface design!

I have been working on a website for a musician and I spent a lot of time searching for some inspiration in the form of websites, surprisingly I had a hard time finding posts that had what I was looking for. I started searching different artists by name on google and couldn't believe that after an hour of searching I couldn't find more than ten websites that I thought were really good, so I decided to [...]]]>

I have been working on a website for a musician and I spent a lot of time searching for some inspiration in the form of websites, surprisingly I had a hard time finding posts that had what I was looking for. I started searching different artists by name on google and couldn’t believe that after an hour of searching I couldn’t find more than ten websites that I thought were really good, so I decided to put this list together of websites that I liked and thought were good sources for inspiration! I hope you guys find this useful and if you know a good website of a musician or a band please leave a comment and share it below!

I have been doing some banner work recently and I have found these tutorials very helpful during the process. There are some different aspects and techniques that should be added to make a banner look more like an ad and to get viewers attentions, after all there main purpose is to get the viewer to click and land on a specific[...]]]>

I have been doing some banner work (see the banners in my portfolio) recently and I have found these tutorials very helpful during the process. There are some different aspects and techniques that should be added to make a banner look more like an ad and to get viewers attentions, after all there main purpose is to get the viewer to click and land on a specific page. These tutorials cover different methods and techniques to make your banners more effective as well as good looking!

Using sketches to make illustrations is a great method to use, especially for cartoon characters, comic book characters, and logo design. Tracing over your sketches helps you to get more precise illustrations and can also help you to create more detailed illustrations. For those that don't use tablets creating illustrations[...]]]>

Using sketches to make illustrations is a great method to use, especially for cartoon characters, comic book characters, and logo design. Tracing over your sketches helps you to get more precise illustrations and can also help you to create more detailed illustrations. For those that don’t use tablets creating illustrations from scratch can be more difficult, but when you use a sketch it can be much easier to get the right details and to be more accurate because your are following the lines that are drawn out on the sketch. Below are 15 tutorials that involve creating illustrations based on sketches in illustrator and photoshop, I hope you will find these useful!

In this post I put together a collection of some great tutorials that will teach you how to take your designs and create amazing photo-realistic mock-ups that you can present to your clients or include in your portfolio to give viewers an idea of how your design looks on a dvd or cd cover, package, business card, t-shirt, and more. [...]]]>

Creating mock-ups is a great way to impress your clients and give them a different perspective on how the design can be implemented in real life, they are also great for making your portfolio look more interesting and creative. In this post I put together a collection of some great tutorials that will teach you how to take your designs and create amazing photo-realistic mock-ups that you can present to your clients or include in your portfolio to give viewers an idea of how your design looks on a dvd or cd cover, package, business card, t-shirt, and more.